Final Fantasy: Philosopher's Stone
by Menonlime
Summary: After Tifa was killed by Sephiroth, Cloud vowed to find the philosopher's stone to revive Tifa. He travelled and came across Badam garden, hoping to get help. Hence, Cloud, Squall and Rinoa became a team. And a journey begins...


**Chapter 1: The killing**

_The man stood over Tifa, who was laying spreadeagle on the cold hard floor. The man's white silvery hair flowed gently with the wind. "So…Cloud Strife, is it a deal?" Cloud ignored Sephiroth and helped Tifa up slowly. Tifa clenched her teeth, looking into Cloud's clear blue eyes. "Don't," she whispered softly. A drop pf tear trickled down Cloud's face, "No…Don't worry…I will get you out of here…" Tifa smiled weakly and fainted. Cloud laid her down softly and stood up, facing Sephiroth in the eyes. Sephiroth smirked, "Well? Is it a no? You will not tell me Vincent's whereabouts?" Cloud charged forward and swung his fist towards Sephiroth. Before his fist had even come close, he disappeared and reappeared ten foot away. "Pathetic. Stubborn and ignorant, you fool…you want to take me on although your weapon is destroyed? Then suffer the consequences!" He raised his hand and summoned a flaming dagger, sending it flying towards Tifa. Cloud ran forward, but he knew that he would never make it…he was too far away…Cloud ran towards her, "NOOOOO!" But the dagger pierced Tifa through the heart before he can reach her. He kneeled down beside her and shook her a bit, although he knew it was no use. He hugged her tightly and started crying and screaming in agony and his voice echoed through the night, "Tifa! TIFA! TIFA, DON'T LEAVE ME!!!!!!!!"_

Cloud woke up with a start. He is still in his tent…he had once again dreamt of what had happened a week ago. Unable to sleep anymore, he got dressed and started walking slowly towards the old village not far from there, hoping to get a new weapon. He had spent his life in darkness, his heart in agony and his mind in a mess for that week. He did not know what to do, or any reason for him to still be alive, when his girlfriend is dead. Deep in his thoughts, he finally reached Badam village, an old village that had been around for many years. He walked around and found the weapon shop at the end of the street. He walked into the shop and muttered to the shopkeeper," Get me the best weapon you have." The small man scurried to the back of the shop and came back around five minutes later with a case that is bigger than the shopkeeper himself. With great difficulty, the shopkeeper hoisted it onto the counter and smiled proudly," Gunblade. It suits you well, sir." Cloud threw him the money and left, carrying the case with him. Having no place to go, he decided to go to the local pub for a drink. He started drinking till the sun began to set. All of a sudden, a scream came from the corner of the pub. He turned his head and saw a group of gangsters crowding around a girl. One of them laughed," Come on…don't be shy, go with us!" He moved in and attempted to kiss the girl but a heavy but empty case hit him on the head with such a force that he was thrown against the wall and died. "Time to test this Gunblade," he muttered under his breadth. The other gangsters turned around and the biggest bloke raised a rifle, pointing it at Cloud," Not so brave now, are you?" Cloud raised his Gunblade and sliced the rifle into half before the leader finished his sentence. The bloke panicked and wanted to run, but Cloud swings his Gunblade and the bloke collapsed, dyeing the floor red. The rest took off without another word, running for their lives. The people in the pub all cheered and the barmen shouted," Bravo. Your drink is on me!" Cloud smiled a bit and held out his hand, helping the girl up. The girl smiled and said," Thanks! I would have handled them on my own, but I forgot to bring my weapon out today." As Cloud looked at the girl and he couldn't believe his eyes. The girl look a lot like Tifa, but the voice sounds a bit different. "Tifa?"

The girl giggled and said," Tifa's my sister. I'm Rinoa. You know my sister?"

Cloud turned away and said softly," Yea…sort of."

"Are you ok?"

"Yea…" And Cloud ran out of the pub without another word, into the streets. He walked slowly, thinking about Rinoa's resemblance to Tifa when he knocked into a person. He muttered a quick sorry and was about to walk off when the person shouted," Cloud?" He turned around and saw that it was his old friend, Vincent. Vincent beamed and patted him on the shoulder," Long time no see…and where's Tifa?" Cloud looked at the floor and muttered," Sephiroth wanted to find you. We did not tell him and…and…" Cloud looked away and wiped his tears. Cloud began to walked away when Vincent," Come to my place for a drink." Cloud followed him to a hut right beside the weapon shop. They drinking their wine without a sound for half an hour until Vincent suddenly said," Actually there's a way to get her back, but it's too dangerous." For the first time since last week, he saw a raw of hope and turned around. He asked," What is it?"

"Philosopher's Stone. It's said to have powers that can bring the dead to life"

"And where can I find it?"

"I don't know either," said Vincent sheepishly," If you really want to know, go to Badam Garden. It's a school west from here that trains SeeD warriors." Cloud nodded, thanked Vincent for the information and left immediately, despite Vincent's countless invitations to stay overnight. He walked west and kept walking, without stopping for a drink at all. The only thing that kept him going is his love for Tifa. The journey was long and tough, but he persevered and never did he think of giving up. By the time he reached, it was already three days later on a morning. A great castle-like school loomed before him. He took a deep breadth, pushed his hair out of his eyes and knocked on the gate, his blue eyes full of hope…

The gate opened and a voice came out from the speaker," Visitor, please report to the guard post and report your name." He walked over to the guard post and said," Cloud Strife. I'm here to see the headmaster."

"He is a busy man, you have to book an appointment. The earliest slot is in a week's time," The guard said in a monotonous voice, as though he had said it at least a thousand times. Before the guard finished speaking, Cloud drew his Gunblade and pointed it at the guard, his eyes filled with anger. Instantly, his blue eyes turned red and the guard jumped up, hurried off without a single sound. He came running back a minute later and seemed to afraid to look into Cloud's eyes," Walk straight to the end and turn left." Cloud walked off, knocking on the door that says **Headmaster Cid**. He heard a soft "come in" and he went in, sitting down opposite a man in black robes. Cloud wiped his hair out of his eyes and looked at the headmaster. The headmaster looked at him and asked," I've heard that you pointed a Gunblade at my guard?"

He nodded and said," I have no choice. There is no time to loose."

"Is that so?"

And Cloud started on his story, starting from Tifa all the way to him finding this place on foot. After ten full minutes, the headmaster nodded and thought about it. He looked into Cloud's eyes and saw the determination in him. "Alright." He press the red button on his desk and spoke into the microphone with the deep voice of his," Rinoa. Squall. Come to my office now." The headmaster then looked up and smiled," Those two are my best agents. And I will lend you a map, as for the Philosopher's Stone, all I know it is in a place called Galbadia." Cloud smiled but he was thinking of something else. " _Rinoa? Tifa's sister?"_ The door opened and guy with black hair came in with Rinoa. The headmaster introduced them and he briefed Squall and Rinoa briefly about what is installed for them. When he is done, Squall left for his room to prepare while Rinoa brought Cloud to his guest room. "So, who's this girl you're trying to save? You really love her, right?" Rinoa asked happily. Cloud hesitated and decided not to tell her yet. "You won't know her anyway," he lied. After a short tour around the school, they reached Cloud's room. Cloud smiled and said," Do me a favor. Inform Squall that we are leaving at noon tomorrow." Rinoa nodded and went off. Cloud walked into his spacious room and placed his Gunblade on the table, laid down on the bed and smiled happily. _"There's finally a way to save Tifa…"_ He slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping for the best.

Next morning, he woke up, got dressed and set off for breakfast. At the cafeteria, he saw Squall and Rinoa at the last table. He went over and greeted them, sitting down. For the next few hours, they began to talk about their lives and their families when Cloud asked Squall," Do you have a girlfriend?" Squall grinned and sipped his coffee, while Rinoa giggled," His girlfriend is me, you idiot!" Rinoa went into a fit of giggles and could not stop for quite a while, leaving Cloud and Squall quite embarrassed as the people in the cafeteria began to look at them. At a quarter before twelve, they went to their own rooms and collected their things, meeting at the gate at twelve o' clock sharp. When they reached, Headmaster Cid was already waiting for them. He passed Squall a small black box and said," Open this after you have found the stone." They bid him farewell and left in a jeep that the headmaster gave them.

As Rinoa hasn't got her license yet, Cloud and Squall took turns to drive, changing every hour. Rinoa is in charge of the map. She will occasionally take out the map and correct their route a bit. They are heading for Deling city for information. It was in the evening when they saw something far away moving towards them. "Finally, a car! I thought we are lost!" Rinoa smiled. As it got closer, the three of them squinted and Cloud immediately shouted," A missile! Jump!" They leaped and the missile hit the car a second later, blasting the jeep into the air. Squall stood up and frowned," We were lucky. We have to be more careful." Cloud looked at the burning jeep and sighed. He looked at Squall," But we lost our weapons and possessions." Rinoa smiled, holding up two Gunblade, a spinning wheel and the map. She said happily," I grabbed these just before I jump. So both of you uses Gunblade!" Cloud took his Gunblade and they were discussing what to do when a tank crept towards them from behind. Rinoa was tying her shoelaces when she saw the tank. She leaped backward and held up her spinning wheel. Cloud and Squall spun round and they leapt backwards, taking out their Gunblades. The tank shot a canon towards them and Rinoa's spinning wheel hit it with such a force that it sliced through the canon easily. The two halves of the canon landed onto the sand with a loud "thud". Without a word, Squall and Cloud each ran to a side of the tank and brought their Gunblade down, firing when the blade made contact with the tank. A force field enveloped the tank's body and both Squall & Cloud were thrown backwards. Cloud spat some blood from his mouth and picked up his Gunblade. The tank's body opened up and a dozen missile launchers came out from the holes. The three of them tried to dodge all the missiles and it was impossible to attack at all. Alas, one of the missiles blasted the three of them into the air and landed with a sickening thud. The three of them laid there and could not get up anymore. The three of them were lying in a pool of blood and the tank advanced towards them slowly. Rinoa and Squall had already fainted. A huge shadow covered them and the tank pointed the missiles at the three of them. "_It doesn't matter…maybe I'll get to see Tifa real soon…" _Red filled his vision and he knew no more…


End file.
